GA Supreme Court Rules Against Death Row Inmate

Associated Press

Updated: 2 years ago.

In a ruling released Monday, the court ruled that the decision to replace a three-drug cocktail with one drug for executions is not subject to the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, so it does not require public hearings before making the change.

The Supreme Court of Georgia has ruled against a death row inmate who had accused prison officials of violating state procedures by failing to hold a public notice hearing before changing the state's execution procedure.

In a ruling released Monday, the court ruled that the decision to replace a three-drug cocktail with one drug for executions is not subject to the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, so it does not require public hearings before making the change.

The case involves Warren Lee Hill, who was convicted in the 1990 beating death of fellow inmate Joseph Handspike. With Monday's unanimous decision, the high court lifted the stay of execution it granted last July to Hill hours before he was to die by lethal injection for the 1990 killing of a prison inmate.